Ghost in the Shell: Arise is an OVA series that serves as a reimagining of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell. A four-part series, it features all-new character designs. It features a screenplay by Tow Ubukata and music by the experimental artist Cornelius. There is also a manga adaptation called Ghost in the Shell: Arise ~Sleepless Eye~, which is currently being published in Young Magazine, a seinen publication.

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The first of the films (referred to as "Borders") in the series, subtitled Ghost Pain, was released for limited cinematic screening in Japan on June 22, 2013. The film is set in the year 2027, a year following the end of the non-nuclear World War IV. A bomb has gone off in Newport City, killing a major arms dealer who may have ties with the mysterious 501 Organization. Public Security official Daisuke Aramaki hires full-body cyber prosthesis user and hacker extraordinaire Motoko Kusanagi to investigate, but on the case with her are "Sleepless Eye" Batou who believes Kusanagi is a criminal, Niihama Prefecture Detective Togusa who is investigating a series of prostitute murders he believes are related to the incident, and Lieutenant Colonel Kurtz of the 501 Organization who also wishes to keep an eye on Kusanagi. A recurring part of the films will be the mysterious Fire Starter (ファイア・スターター,Faia Sutātā) computer virus, as well as looking into the lives of Batou and Togusa before the formation of Public Security Section 9.

Mayumi Asano as Lieutenant Colonel Kurutsu, the head of the Army 501 Organization the firm who converted Motoko Kusanagi into a full cyborg and who Kusanagi would replace in the organization had she not joined Section 9.

Takanori Hoshino as Raizo, a combat cyborg for the 501 Organization that uses electricity as weapons.

Masahiro Mamiya as Ibachi, a combat cyborg for the 501 Organization skilled in Bōjutsu and armed with hidden machine guns.

Kenji Nojima as Tsumugi, a tactical cyborg for the 501 Organization that has a set of twins' cyberbrains in its head who always talk to each other.

Atsushi Miyauchi as Mamuro, a mysterious benefactor for the 501 Organization who raised Kusanagi but has disappeared, having had something to do with arms dealing.